Desert Terrain and Tropical Fronds in Indian Canyons

During the last few years much has been written in newspapers and magazine articles about Palm Canyon. Its charm consists in the startling combination of rocky gorges and canyons, essentially savage and desert-like, with the arboreal grace of tall, tropic-seeming palms growing in native loveliness beside a snow-fed, gushing stream. If the effect were to be summed up in one word, I think the word would be, not grandeur, nor even beauty, but strangeness to a notable degree.

--Joseph Smeaton Chase, 1922 “Our Araby: Palm Springs and the Garden of the Sun”

Long forgotten trail rider/nature writer Joseph Smeaton Chase is back in print. Tioga Press has reprinted Chase’s classic “California Coast Trails,” “California Desert Trails,” and “Yosemite Trails,” and just recently the Palm Springs Library reissued “Our Araby,” a delightful book about the early days of Palm Springs.

Chase, who died in 1922, lived the last few years of his life in Palm Springs. He championed the creation of Palm Canyon National Monument, in order to preserve the canyons on the outskirts of Palm Springs, known collectively as the Indian Canyons--Palm, Murray and Andreas.

The palm canyons never did win National Park Service protection, and a developer now plans to build a golf course and resort in the lower reaches of the canyons. They would receive some federal protection under the California Desert Conservation bill proposed by Sen. Alan Cranston (D-Calif.).

The hills and canyons bordering Palms Springs have the greatest concentration of palm trees in the United States, and Palm Canyon has more trees than any other desert oasis in the nation. A meandering stream and lush undergrowth complement more than 3,000 palms, creating a jungle-like atmosphere in some places.

Palm fans will enjoy viewing the largest concentration of California fan palms, on the Aqua Caliente Indian Reservation. Washingtonia filifera, the palm’s botanical name, honors our first president. President’s Day--or any other clear winter day--is a fine time to visit the palms, some of them estimated to be 2,000 years old.

Directions to trailhead: From Interstate 10, exit on California 111 and proceed to downtown Palm Springs. California 111 becomes Palm Canyon Drive.

Anyone with an interest in the early days of Palm Springs should stop at Village Green Heritage Center, 221 S. Palm Canyon Drive. The McCallum Adobe houses a museum operated by the Palm Springs Historical Society. Next door, Cornelia White’s house (Cornelia was Joseph Smeaton Chase’s sister-in-law) offers a glimpse into the lives of the three intrepid White sisters, hearty Palm Springs pioneers.

Continue through town on Palm Canyon Drive. At a fork, Highway 111 veers east and becomes East Palm Canyon Drive. You head straight, on South Palm Canyon Drive, following the signs to Indian Canyons. You’ll reach the Aqua Caliente Indians tollgate, where you must pay to enter tribal lands. Admission is $3 for adults; 75 cents for children 6 through 12. The reservation is open 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

Parking is a short distance beyond the tollgate at the head of Palm Canyon at Hermit’s Bench, where there is a trading post and a good view north into Palm Springs. Many signs remind visitors that they must be off the reservation before 5 p.m.

The Hike: From the trading post, the trail descends into the canyon.

Some palms stand 60 feet tall, with 3-foot trunk diameters. In 1980, a fire burned some of the palms just below Hermit’s Bench. The trees lived, but today their trunks are black and their skirts short.

The trail follows the canyon for 2 miles to a tiny grotto that seems an ideal place to turn around.

Hardy adventurers will relish the challenge of proceeding up Palm Canyon 7 more miles, gaining 3,000 feet, to Highway 74, the Palms-to-Pines Highway.

Note: This strenuous hike is best done by beginning at California 74 trailhead, hiking down Palm Canyon, and persuading a friend to pick you up at Hermit’s Bench.

Palm Canyon Trail

Hermit’s Bench to turnaround 4 miles round trip; 200-foot elevation gain